Zimbabwe arrests hundreds of activists

ANGUS SHAWAssociated Press

Published Saturday, April 06, 2002

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Police have arrested 354 activists as they organized protests against disputed presidential elections, in what critics say is the latest example of President Robert Mugabe's efforts to turn Zimbabwe into a police state.

The activists were arrested Thursday as they met at a church-run hostel in Harare to prepare for weekend demonstrations to protest Mugabe's victory in last month's elections, organizer Lovemore Madhuku said Friday.

Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo, in charge of the police, said the demonstrations planned for Saturday were illegal and told state television he was giving "a stern warning" to anyone choosing to take part.

"The law will be applied in full force," he said.

Thousands of government critics and opposition activists have been arrested since the election as part of a campaign of harassment and violence targeting critics of Mugabe's 22-year regime, human rights groups said.

"It is a police state. We will not be intimidated," said Madhuku, head of the National Constitutional Assembly, a coalition of activists.

The southern African nation has been wracked by political violence over the past two years that human rights groups contend was a calculated ruling party campaign to intimidate opposition supporters and ensure Mugabe's re-election.

Opposition leaders and several independent observer groups say the March 9-11 elections were deeply flawed and clearly biased toward Mugabe. The United States condemned the poll and the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies suspended Zimbabwe for a year. Since the poll, Zimbabwe's 4,000 white farmers have reported an upsurge in violence, evictions, and looting of their property, which they blamed on retribution against them by Mugabe's militants.

Mugabe has rejected calls by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change for an election rerun.